Tjuringa Eye Cream 30gm
Tjuringa Eye Cream 30gm$22.50

So What is SPECIAL about Emus!

For centuries, emu oil has been used by Australian Aboriginies as a natural, non-toxic remedy to reduce pain and stiffness in sore muscles and joints. It’s properties include being a rich source of natural vitamins and minerals, a long chain of fatty acids plus anti-oxidants and other healing ingredients.  Because of the evolutionary age of the Australian aboriginal people, this means that emu oil is probably the oldest natural anti-inflammatorty and moisturiser used by the human race. Tjuringa Emu Farm is the maker of the Tjuringa Skin Care and the Aussensuals Skin Care range of products. Because we farm our own emus and use oil produced from our own farmed birds, we guarantee the highest grade of emu oil in our products and maintain excellent percentages in all of our products.

Company Profile

TJURINGA Emu Farm

Tjuringa Emu Products is the marketing arm of the TJURINGA Emu Farm at Maleny.  Maleny is where our current operations are based.  Our emu farming operations started at Chinchilla (on the Western Darling Downs) in 1993, in response to a need to diversify during the worst drought that area had seenlast century.

4 years ago we were producing emus to sell to product manufacturers.  Today we are running 300 genetically diverse breeders of all ages and are planning on producing between 1,000 and 2,000 emu chickens a year.  However these birds will not be sold at “farm gate”.  They will be processed and used to supply markets, that we have established and the oil for our own TOTALLY NATURAL range of emu oil skin care products. This is a far cry from our original expectation to be commodity suppliers of emus at farm gate to other product manufacturers.

The three main products produced from Emus are oil, meat and leather.  Although emu eggs are highly sought after for carving and painting. Egg contents are also used in omellettes, quiches or for sponge cakes, which are real delicacies.   However it is unlikely that emu egg products will ever become an eating quisine option as the real value from emus is in producing live chickens.  There will be operations, like ours, that offer emu egg products to farm visitors as a unique and special attraction.

Farmed emus produce genuinely Australian products, which are more in harmony with nature than those produced from traditional introduced European farmed species.  At Maleny all of these introduced species including humans, cattle, sheep, goats, horses and dogs all have to be treated for parasites including ticks, worms and paralysis ticks.

None of our emus have died from paralysis ticks or get antibiotic and other treatments for parasites infections and disease.

Because the real value in emus comes from the fat and because fat is a residue for lots of these chemicals, we are extremely conscious of the need to ensure that these farming aids are not included in our operation.  We need to be sure that the fat which our emus produce is the “cleanest” in the world.

We guarantee that our emus are Range Grown and produced without pesticides, acaricides, growth hormones, feed supplements or any other unnatural and synthetic additives and treatments.

Peter Thompson is the founder of Tjuringa Emu Products and as such has been involved with the emu industry since it started in Queensland.  Whilst he started farming emus as an alternative enterprise in the 1990 - 1994 drought, he is one of only 4 remaining licensed emu farmers in Queensland today.

In 1993 emu farming commenced at Tjuringa and the background of all birds that are processed is known, which enables us to stand by a guarantee of continuity of supply of a high quality, “clean” product.

Birds are processed in QSAFE licensed facilities to ensure that food safety standards are maintained at all stages. All fresh meat is vacuum sealed to maintain freshness and flavour as well as preventing contamination.

And it is very important that you do not confuse emus with ostriches.  Peter says “I am continually correcting people that, what they have seen and heard about emus on further cross examination invariably transpires to be ostriches.”

Emus versus Ostriches.

A common confusion.

Whilst there are many differences between the two species:

  • Both birds are classified as large flightless birds or ratites.  However ostriches came from Africa whilst emus are Australian in origin.  (Other ratites include Rheas - from Argentina; Kiwis - from New Zealand and Cassowaries from Northern Australia and New Guinea.  Interestingly all from the southern hemisphere.
  • Ostriches are farmed mainly for their leather, whilst emus are farmed for their fat.  Emus do produce a beautiful leather but it is much finer than ostrich leather.
  • Ostrich leather is strong and thick enough to wear on your feet out in the street, whereas emu leather is soft and light and ideal for special situations such as clothing for babies and ladies.
  • Both produce a very healthy lean red meat, but this is more of a bi-product.
  • Mature ostriches weigh around 135 kg whilst emus are around 40 kg.
  • Emus take 55 days to hatch their eggs compared to ostriches with only 40 days.
  • Most importantly, it was ostriches NOT emus that a lot of people “Got Caught” with “Get Rich Quick Schemes” in the 1990’s.

For more background information on emus I recommend people refer to an American publication “The Emu armers Handbook” produced by Maria Minnaar and published by Nyoni Publishing Co, Texas, USA.

 

MISSION STATEMENT

  1. To develop the emu industry and market our products in Australia and overseas by:
  2. Developing a range of emu oil skin care products, based on the use of 100% natural ingredients.
  3. Undertaking research to identify (and breed from) emus that produce pharmaceutical grade oil, which will then be marketed for arthritis relief and other proven health related areas.
  4. Marketing emu oil of different grades based on a scientifically supported test.
  5. Developing and marketing a range of emu meat products that are acceptable to customers in Australia and overseas.
  6. Producing high quality emu leather and value adding this as exclusive Tjuringa fashion garments.
  7. Having obtained these objectives to expand the farming operation to meet the increasing demand.